Survival Tips

1.) Play Through On Hard - Unless you're simply not very good at action games, you should be able to play through on hard (Knight) difficulty right off the bat. Certain stages and a few bosses might be extra challenging under these strenuous settings, but the game is simply not that hard on Knight difficulty otherwise. Playing through on Knight will allow you to unlock the Paladin difficulty setting more quickly. Plus, it will make you better at the game by forcing you through more difficult situations. And then, there's the completion percentage bonus you get by playing through on Knight, forgoing Warrior difficulty completely. In other words, there are few reasons not to play through on hard... unless you simply can't handle it.

2.) Spend That Experience! - There is absolutely, positively no reason for you to horde experience points in the game. The only reason you should have unspent experience is if you're saving up for a combo or skill you can't yet afford. Otherwise, you're going to want to spend, spend away. Try to do so at least after every couple of stages. Remember that buying new combos and skills doesn't only make Gabriel stronger in the short run. Purchasing these combos and skills also unlocks new combos and skills for Gabriel to utilize that would otherwise stay hidden, including upgrades for skills and combos you may have already unlocked.

3.) Magic Is Your Friend - There's a stigma with magic in videogames, and that stigma is that you shouldn't be using magic unless you absolutely, positively have to. But friends, this is no JRPG. Your magic isn't going to remain spent until you reach the nearest inn. Rather, you should use magic whenever you feel that you need to. This is especially true with Light Magic, considering its ridiculously-useful curative properties. Remember that you can always replenish spent magic, even in small quantities, by assimilating neutral essence dropped by enemies. And you'll also find neutral essence dispensers throughout your quest as well, especially when using magic is a necessity. So don't hold back!

4.) Seek Out Collectibles - Amongst the many reasons to return to stages you've already completed is the never-ending quest for collectibles. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the primary collectibles of interest are gems. Gems come in three different varieties -- Life Gems, Light Gems, and Shadow Gems. Collecting five of each type of gem will raise your health, Light Magic meter and Shadow Magic meter respectively. There are thirty of each type of gem, meaning that there are ninety total to find in the game. Many of them can be found right off the bat if you search a stage hard enough for them (or use our walkthrough to cut to the chase). But after you defeat a stage, the statistics screen will tell you what you may have missed, so remember to go back and keep searching for anything you may be without. Every little bit counts.

5.) Scour For Scrolls - While far less glamorous than more worthwhile collectibles like the gems we mentioned earlier, each stage will have at least one (and likely more) scrolls to find as well. Almost always, scrolls are easier to find than gems, and are hidden in more obvious places. But that's because scrolls often have interesting stories to tell. So try to read all of the scrolls you find in the game, especially the ones that illuminate how to get through a certain puzzle. Sure -- scrolls don't give you health, or magic, or spells, or anything overtly useful like that. But part of what makes Lords of Shadow such a rewarding game in the first place is the storyline. And that's what the scrolls are for. So find them, read them, rinse, and repeat.

6.) Backtrack! - If you're reading these tips sequentially, or if you've already spent a lot of time reading our enormous Basics section, then it should already be pretty obvious to you that a lot of emphasis is placed on backtracking in Lords of Shadow. Because of the way the stages are laid out -- in twelve chapters -- you can access any chapter you've already completed, and any stage within any chapter you've already completed, instantaneously. You'll want to make sure to do so with regularity. There are obvious reasons to do this, such as experience farming, but the need to backtrack is also much more of a necessity if you're chasing everything in the game. Backtrack to find Brotherhood Arks, backtrack to find missing gems, and backtrack to complete each stage on all difficulty levels. And trials, too!

7.) Don't Skip Cutscenes - Castlevania is no doubt one of the best gaming series in the history of the industry. That's hard to dispute. Konami has been busting our quality 2D adventures for over twenty-five years, populating the franchise with some of the most classic titles imaginable, from Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. And while all of these games have some story, none of them have attempted to tell a story as deep and fleshed-out as Lords of Shadow's. It's important that if you want to follow the game's narrative, you don't skip any cutscenes. Pay attention to them. Only skip them when you've already completed a stage. That, of course, is entirely acceptable.

8.) Try Trials - Getting through the stages' many trials perhaps accounts for the most rewarding part of the game, apart from actually getting through the game during your initial playthrough. Once you've defeated a stage, the stage's statistics screen should tell you what the stage's trial is. Upon your return to that stage, you'll be able to fulfill certain requirements that will allow the trial to be completed successfully. These trials should be sought out and completed, as they don't only add to your overall percentage completion (as discussed below), but because some of them are difficult, and thus quite rewarding to complete. These trials can be based on just about anything, from completion time to enemies defeated and beyond, so be sure to read carefully what you're expected to do. The good news is that if you fail the prerequisites on any stage, the game will immediately tell you, so you won't have to wait 'til the end of a given stage to see how you did.

9.) Raise Your Percentage - Everything you do in the game is important for their own reasons, but all of your accomplishments will ultimately combine to give you a percentage. Well, many percentages, actually. Each stage has its own percentage rating, and each chapter takes all stages under its umbrella and averages their percentages to give the chapter an overarching percentage rating. The maximum percentage that can be reached on any stage is 110%. Yes, 110%. Raise percentages by completing stages on all difficulties, finding all collectibles on each stage, and completing that stage's trial successfully. Before you know it, your game save will be rife with 110% ratings!

10.) Study Your Enemies - The final tip we're going to recommend to you is to study your enemies, and study them carefully. You won't be meeting enemies in a vacuum, with no way to learn more about them. After each enemy encounter, you'll earn a new entry to your bestiary that will illuminate important facts and information about the enemy in question. Only by reading this information and studying those facts will you go into battle with everything you need to know. Of course, practice makes perfect, so fighting enemies will achieve the same end, but only by reading about enemies, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and then bringing all of this new and important information into battle can you possibly have the greatest advantage over your adversaries.